Research - Laura Mulvey's ideas on representation

Laura Mulvey made an interesting point in her quote regarding gender representation:

"In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly." - Laura Mulvey, 1992

My interpretation of this is that as women and men are still not seen as equal in the world, for example they are not paid the same and men are seen as more dominant, this reflects on their image too. Commonly, men usually dress to impress women, and are known to look at women by how they look and dress, fantasizing how they want them to be/look like. Some women dress provocatively in order to receive attention from men, and in most music videos it is seen as normal.

In class we looked at Dizzee Rascal - Holiday and how it supports Mulvey's idea. It does this in the following points:

• There is an underwater camera which focuses on women's bodies, swimwear and skin
• The girl at the start is seen but not heard talking, no female voice is heard, giving the impression a woman's voice is not important
• Goldie (the man in the beginning) features in the video is staring at the girls body when she enters - the camera identifies with him
• Most of the shots cut off the women's heads and faces
• All of the girls are young (probably in their 20's) which is insinuating over 25/30s are excluded and it doesn't matter, which would be sexist
• There are old men in the video that no one looks at, which sets different standards
• Dizzee is wearing a suit and the women are wearing bikinis which make a double standard - the men are dressed up
• The girls are posing, seeking attention
• Overall it shows the typical dance video genre
• Proves the idea of disemberment - women are just body parts e.g. legs

JLS ft. Dev - She makes me wanna also shows this idea. The guys are dressed when most of the girls are wearing bikinis, swimsuits etc. Having the airplanes in the background is also flash, and makes the guys look more expensive and attractive to women.

Defying the theory:

Missy Elliot - The Rain defies this idea, as Missy is dressed in a bin bag esq costume, alongside filming with a fish eye lens, as well as a low angle, all of which make an unflattering appearance. However she is still passive and makes fun of the idea of being like all the other girls in music videos. She stands her ground by being confident and shows it doesn't matter what she wears she can still make great music and music videos.

LMFAO - Sexy and I know it also turns the idea around. This humorous video entails the guys being the ones with hardly any clothes on, while the girls are dressed more than they are for once! It is also the most watched music video on Youtube.